1,380 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by CapWealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• CapWealth Advisors increased its Microsoft stake by 1.7%, buying 1,380 shares to own 84,108 shares valued at about $43.1 million at quarter-end.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 18.8% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Microsoft is reportedly consolidating AI cloud-capacity arrangements, including winding down rented Oracle capacity; the move may help manage costs but has raised questions about AI demand and infrastructure returns.

CapWealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,108 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.3% of CapWealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,928,664,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,653,812,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $4,000,706,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Griffin Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $615.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $530.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $516.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $440.18. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $559.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company's revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.00%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s free-cash-flow position may offer some reassurance: an analysis notes that several other major AI hyperscalers are generating negative free cash flow, while Microsoft is generating positive cash flow. Is Microsoft Getting Enough Credit for Better Free Cash Flow Compared to its Peers?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft plans to reduce the number of neocloud partners it uses, wind down rented AI capacity from Oracle, and declined a Texas data-center expansion with Nscale. This could help control costs and give Microsoft tighter oversight as it builds its own infrastructure, but the implications for capacity growth remain uncertain. Microsoft plans to use fewer neoclouds as AI buildout shows signs of strain
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may read the canceled or reduced AI-computing commitments as a sign that Microsoft is reassessing demand, project timing, or returns on its data-center spending. The shift comes as reports highlight construction delays and the rising cost of meeting a growing AI backlog, intensifying scrutiny of whether heavy investment will pay off. Microsoft is winding down Oracle deal to rent AI cloud capacity, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: Broader unease around AI spending and tech-market volatility may also weigh on MSFT, as investors question the scale of data-center investment relative to future cash returns. Microsoft and Oracle's AI ambitions are suddenly a lot more expensive

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.

Microsoft serves customers around the world through its products, online platforms, and network of business partners.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.